spirated letter
of the Kosekin language, while the aspirated Hebrew is represented by
the Kosekin medial."

"Too true," exclaimed Melick, in a tone of deep conviction; "and now,
Oxenden, won't you sing us a song?"

"Nonsense," said Featherstone; "let the doctor tell us about the
athaleb."

"Well," resumed the doctor, "as I was saying, it must be undoubtedly
the pterodactyl. It is a most extraordinary animal, and is a species
of flying lizard, although differing from the lizard in many respects.
It has the head and neck of a bird, the trunk and tail of an ordinary
mammal, the jaws and teeth of a reptile, and the wings of a bat. Owen
describes one whose sweep of wings exceeded twenty feet, and many have
been found of every gradation of size down to that of a bat. There is
no reason why they should not be as large as More says; and I for my
part do not suspect him of exaggeration. Some have supposed that a
late, lingering individual may have suggested the idea of the fabulous
dragon--an idea which seems to be in the minds of nearly all the human
race, for in the early records of many nations we find the destruction
of dragons assigned to their gods and heroes. The figure of the
pterodactyl represents pretty closely that which is given to the
dragons. It is not impossible that they may have existed into the
period which we call prehistoric, and that monsters far larger than
any which we have yet discovered may have lingered until the time when
man began to increase upon the earth, to spread over its surface, and
to carve upon wood and stone representations of the most striking
objects around him. When the living pterodactyls had disappeared the
memory of them was preserved; some new features were added, and the
imagination went so far as to endow them with the power of belching
forth smoke and flames. Thus the dragon idea pervaded the minds of
men, and instead of a natural animal it became a fabulous one.

"The fingers of the forelegs were of the ordinary dimensions, and
terminated with crooked nails, and these were probably used to suspend
themselves from trees. When in repose it rested on its hind legs like
a bird, and held its neck curving behind, so that its enormous head
should not disturb its equilibrium. The size and form of the feet, of
the leg, and of the thigh prove that they could hold themselves erect
with firmness, their wings folded, and move about in this way like
birds, just as More describes them as do